I will be in Boston next Saturday and Sunday. I would like to eat delicious mid-priced food, visit bookstores and museums, see beautiful local features and possibly shop for accessories. I would also like to ride the T, because I love the T, at least when it's running. What do you recommend?posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 8:00 AM on March 9, 2015
(27 comments)

So I'm going to the gym - awesome. Cardio, weights, stretches, I am so there. I'd like to add things to my routine, but I'm a little bit overwhelmed by all the advice on the internet. I'm also uncertain about the importance of form for squats, given that I seem to see people whose form is all over the place. Questions inside!posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 7:33 AM on February 4, 2015
(15 comments)

I've been going to the gym for the past few months! It's the best! But the front outsides of my calves and the tops of my feet are being weird and it's getting in the way.posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 8:29 AM on January 20, 2015
(20 comments)

I want to incorporate stretching as a serious part of my gym routine - not so much as a warm up but for greater flexibility. So I'm looking for interesting and useful stretches or exercises that incorporate stretching plus any resources that you'd recommend. Also, what were these mystery stretches I saw being done at the gym?posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 6:07 AM on January 7, 2015
(10 comments)

I need to make two websites and I am not sure how best to go about it. One needs to be a nicely maintained place to park documents; one is a place for me to post class materials and can be sort of bloggy in feel. I have a weird constellation of website abilities and am not sure how best to proceed.posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 10:18 AM on December 22, 2014
(14 comments)

I'm in this class with some people. For unrelated reasons - but the idea of a tattoo field trip is funny! - we would like to go as a small group to get some tattoo touch-up work and some simple piercings. No one has had work done in the Twin Cities recently and we're not sure where to go.posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 9:20 AM on October 1, 2014
(7 comments)

Sometime within the last couple of years there was either a post or a comment linking to a really terrific Soviet cartoon about the difficulties of making a movie in the USSR....posted to MetaTalk by Frowner at 12:12 PM on August 27, 2014
(4 comments)

I'm preparing a timeline of important virology-related events for work. We have some HIV-related and some bacteriophage-related material as well as some cancer-related stuff and some "greatest hits" (x-ray diffraction patterns, transduction, discovery of interferon). I'd like to expand our timeline to cover more diverse kinds of virology-related stuff.posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 7:16 AM on August 15, 2014
(8 comments)

I find that I tend to like new music most when someone explains to me why it's interesting and important. That is, I'm more likely to enjoy [random genre for which I have a narrative] than [more music like what I already enjoy, but without a narrative]. And most of my favorite music is stuff that was shared with me by someone who really, really liked it. What do you really, really like right now? And why?posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 7:00 AM on August 8, 2014
(18 comments)

A friend has an interview for a really great administrative job at a midwestern arts organization. He's a big guy, so our options are not infinite - ie, no going to JCrew.posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 12:47 PM on June 4, 2014
(10 comments)

My lawn is a terrible mess of weeds, luckily in a neighborhood where almost everyone has a terrible lawn so I'm not bringing down property values. How do I fix it, preferably without pesticides? What do I need to fix? What time of year should I do things? What kinds of plants can I plant in Minnesota? How does a total newb start this stuff, especially a total newb with a busy schedule and back pain?posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 7:17 AM on May 23, 2014
(28 comments)

Looking for a professional or skilled amateur the metro area to make some clothes for me by cutting up and copying existing clothes!posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 6:33 AM on April 22, 2014
(4 comments)

I foolishly lent my digital camera for what was meant to be a short time and is turning into an indefinite period. I need to list some stuff on eBay and Etsy. I would like the cheapest reliable digital camera for this purpose. (I don't have and won't be getting a smartphone (at least not in the immediate "would like to sell things on eBay soon" level of future), so need a stand-alone camera.)posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 6:59 AM on February 19, 2014
(10 comments)

I really hurt my arm. I am going to the doctor, but I'm curious about people's general experiences with this type of injury, treatments, length of recovery, and general speculation about just what I did to myself, since it seems like I did several different things at once.posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 11:12 AM on February 4, 2014
(16 comments)

My mother's health isn't so great (and it isn't, sadly, going to get much better). She still enjoys movies, however, and I'd like to get her some animated stuff. Her vision isn't strong, so subtitles are out - so these must be dubbed or from Anglophone countries.posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 8:58 AM on December 16, 2013
(18 comments)

Looking for a place or a particular stylist who will cut my queer hair and who may even offer suggestions about style. Snowflakes inside.posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 9:58 AM on November 5, 2013
(15 comments)

I need some additional music to play at an event tomorrow night, and I have exhausted all the AskMes on this question. Recent dance music and dance music that meets the somewhat bizarre criteria inside needed.posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 8:34 AM on September 20, 2013
(25 comments)

Accountants of metafilter! Should I attempt to become one of your number?
I have a secretarial gig at a university. I want to continue working at the university for as much of my career as possible, and I'd like more responsibility and challenge. In my current role, I do some proto-accounting stuff unique to this position (some reporting, some tracking of numbers, some fancy work with Excel). I enjoy these parts of my job. This leads me to wonder whether I should get an accounting degree.posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 11:52 AM on July 31, 2013
(19 comments)

I have a small assortment of rather choice* vintage clothes, textiles and miscellany. I would like to sell it all. I'm already eBaying a large volume of other stuff, I am an average photographer with an average camera and honestly, eBay doesn't seem like the best place to sell these things - a couple are rare collector pieces.
What are some good ways to do this besides eBay and what are your experience of them? Also, how can I figure out what is a reasonable price if I do sell to a dealer? I'd be glad to hear from you as a dealer or as a skilled amateur.posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 9:32 AM on June 25, 2013
(9 comments)

I bike commute every day year round and as a result often end up biking in the rain. I need recommendations for a lightweight, compact rain jacket-y thing that I can carry with me every day in my bag. It needs to be comfortable for summer. If it's a women's jacket, it needs to fit an XL-XXL with broad shoulders; men's jackets are also okay provided that the fit is fairly tailored. Compactness is key - I carry a medium-sized messenger bag and my current rain jacket takes up most of the room when I bring it. Warmth isn't really a concern as this is for times when I can't wear a wool jacket and hat. Should not be designed to fit super tight, as it will need to go over a shirt and possibly a light cardigan. Cheap is better than expensive, but I would pay for a spendy one if it were perfect. posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 10:21 AM on May 24, 2013
(11 comments)

Neighbors play norteño music really, really loudly all day on many weekend days through the summer. The particular rhythms and thumping quality of the music make it very, very hard to ignore, so I can't read or do anything that requires concentration when it is playing. Asking them to turn it down is not an option. Even closing my windows does nothing, sadly. Are there any particular mechanical ways to cancel/mute very loud noises like this? I would pay almost any money not to go through this again this summer, especially since they seem to have a new sound system that is such that I can't even really sleep through the music, so it just kills my whole day unless I go out.posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 5:23 PM on April 28, 2013
(37 comments)

So I've been doing a little bit of teaching of free adult classes in my erstwhile academic specialty, an area of literature. (I am not an academic and do not teach except for community stuff.) I have trouble with big group discussion and balancing my role in the class.posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 6:37 AM on April 3, 2013
(13 comments)

I flew to Seattle for a couple of days. I climbed a lot of stairs. My calf hurts. Do I need to go to the ER? Doctors' advice in particular appreciated.posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 11:23 AM on March 25, 2013
(14 comments)

To my surprise, I will have one Saturday in Seattle very soon. I will be staying in downtown and reliant on public transportation.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 11:45 AM on March 15, 2013
(17 comments)

So hair technology has changed since the nineties and my last product-requiring hairstyle. I now have a perfectly standard irritating men's style-blogger/Talented Mr. Ripley haircut and I require something to keep the damn thing out of my eyes. But since my hair is not quite long enough to stay back really well (it's at that stage where it's too long not to use product, but not quite long enough to be easy to style) and my hair is very straight, thick, coarse and willful, I require a hair product that has some hold.posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 7:58 AM on February 21, 2013
(11 comments)

I'm especially interested in films about writers of color and writers from the global south. Any kind of film is fine - need not be a documentary. But a progressive/radical/critical outlook is appreciated! Particularly looking for films that will appeal to an intelligent but not super-theorized audience - ie, that documentary about Derrida is not what we're looking for, and even the recent one about Zizek is an edge case.posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 6:29 AM on January 9, 2013
(4 comments)

Help an easily confused person with netbook needs (or do I want a starter ThinkPad?) - some snowflake details inside. Particularly interested in 11" netbooks, but at a huge, giant loss about how to proceed - like, ridiculously helpless here.posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 7:35 AM on December 7, 2012
(21 comments)

Back pain and swallowing difficulty - is the shoulder pain causing the swallowing situation or the other way around? Your experience wanted as I wait for my doctor visit.posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 8:26 AM on August 31, 2012
(10 comments)

Happy May 1, everyone! Movie questions - I'm putting together a film series showing radical comedy about being working class/pink collar/lower-middle-class, mostly drawn from the sixties, seventies and early eighties. Or at least I hope I am - this was inspired by realizing how great 9 to 5 is and a vague memory of seeing reruns of other movies with a similar sensibility on the late show in the late eighties and early nineties.posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 7:33 AM on May 1, 2012
(32 comments)

What happens if your house is damaged by a tornado? What happens to your stuff, what do you do about the immediate moment, etc?posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 4:27 PM on April 16, 2012
(5 comments)

Accidental DJ is on deck - I need alternative/underground/indie/queer dance hits of the last decade, any genre. Help me minimize looking a fool!posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 6:23 AM on January 19, 2012
(31 comments)

I need more energy - how can I stop being tired and have the strength and will to get more done? Tell me what I'm doing wrong and give me your tips for being energetic - lots of snowflake details inside.posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 7:23 AM on December 2, 2011
(45 comments)

How can I amuse these variously-aged children who like to test boundaries? How should I handle things when I basically can't discipline them? How can I get in the right headspace to do this?posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 2:21 PM on September 1, 2011
(11 comments)

I don't know much about music and I don't have a large music vocabulary - once you get past "bassline" I am reduced to saying things like "It was very squeaky yet melodic somehow, you know?" I would like some sources for critical writing about more complicated modern music.posted to Ask MetaFilter by Frowner at 8:07 AM on July 21, 2011
(9 comments)

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